Unnamed
by Gemini Star01
Summary: The victim of a vicious cold, Shun finds himself the only one at home when Auriga comes looking for the Gold Cloth. He attempts to defend, but in his weakened state is no match...COMPLETED!
1. Abduction

__

…I wrote this while I was bored in school. It was going around in my head for a while, so I finally got my Happy Bunny notebook and wrote it down. It turned out…kinda good. For a first Saint Seiya fic, I mean. It's based in about the area it was in when I wrote this…Ikki hasn't come back yet, they haven't burned down the coliseum, and they're still looking for the rest of the Gold Cloth. Bear with me…

****

As a note, I've read the first manga and seen a few **(read: two and three fifths)** of the original episodes, but most of my info comes from the Knights of the Zodiac dub, so I don't know if I got everyone right…particularly Hyoga and Shiryu…And, although I'm not sure, but I may be using a dub name for the Princess/Athena and some others…Be gentle…-_-…

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Saint Seiya/K.o.Z, Shun, Sienna/Athena/**WHATEVER HER NAME IS! ***ahem* However, I do own Auriga…Er, I think…does he show up? *blinks* Eh…I own this guy. And yes, it IS a constellation! *points to constellation book* See see? Either a chariot driver or a shepherd. ^_^ Don't hurt me…please…

****

Unknown

Chapter 1: Abduction

Shun coughed roughly a few times, gazing out the window as the helicopter lift up from the mansion grounds. Despite the fact that he felt utterly wretched at the moment, he bitterly wished that he was on it.

He pulled the flannel blanket around his shoulders and made his way back to the bed. The mansion was an awfully quiet place when you were all alone in it, as he was at the moment, and he wasn't sure he liked it.

Wasn't it just his luck to come down with the flu on a day like this? Not only was it gorgeously sunny outside, but they'd gotten word on where the Black Knights could be hiding the rest of the Gold Cloth. It wasn't anywhere near…Somewhere in a large range of caves along the western coast of Sicily.

Despite his cough, naturally he'd wanted to come along and help. Sure, he was tired. Yeah, he was stressed out. Okay, okay, the coughs kinda hurt…But that didn't mean he couldn't help.

That got him double-teamed by Sienna and Seiya. His fellow Knight had insisted that his energy was too weak to fight, that he'd only be putting himself in danger. Sienna had felt his forehead and chastised that anyone with a fever that high had no business going outside, let alone to a damp, dreary place like Sicily. They'd both practically force-fed him cough medicine and made him stay in bed, assuring him that they could handle this problem without him.

Shun lay back against the pillow, an annoyed part of his mind wondering if the reaction would have been the same if it had been Shiryu or Hyoga.

Sienna hadn't gone along with them, of course. But she and Tatsumi had gone to a business meeting in Sapporo and wouldn't be back until late. There weren't many other servants to start out with, and most of their shifts had either ended already or not started yet, so he was the only one in the whole place.

He leaned over to the bed stand and started some music to drown out the silence. He reached down and pulled the covers to his chin, coughing a bit as he listened.

"…It's way too quiet here…" he muttered to himself, closing his eyes. "I'm gonna…go nuts…"

He slipped into a sickness-and-drug-induced sleep. But he only slumbered for about and hour before a deafening **_BANG!!_** from downstairs shot him awake.

It took him a moment of blurred vision to dissenter the source of the sound. It was the heavy front doors being thrown open, and now there were unfamiliar shouts and laughs coming from the level below him.

Pulling a blanket around his shoulders to ward off the chills, he slipped out of bed as quietly as he could. He kept low to the ground, creeping out the door and into the hall. Part of the second floor looked over the main hallway, and it was easy to look around the corner and through the banister of the grand staircase.

Below him were about 5 unfamiliar men searching it, clothed in dark outfits and armor. Some would disappear down own hall and come back unsuccessful in whatever they were after, then somebody else would go back where they'd been.

Standing in the open doorway was a tall, thin knight that Shun'd never seen before. His armor was a dark navy blue, and the major part of it was draped around his right shoulder and tied around the waist, like a shepherd's cloak. He held a short whip-like object in one hand, and long, black hair extended from under his helmet. 

"Remember, leave as little evidence as possible!" he shouted in a deep, royal-sounding voice. "There's no reason for them to know we've paid a visit…Until they realize the helmet's gone!"

Shun understood well enough now, but there was a small flaw in this guy's plan. The Helmet wasn't in the mansion. Sienna never went anywhere without it, just to make sure the Black Knights couldn't track it down so easily. Not to mention, they still had a Bronze Knight to deal with.

Leaving the blanket on the floor, he slid down the hall to the sitting-room that Sienna would go to sometimes to play the piano. It was also where she kept their cloth boxes.

Three of the four were empty at the moment. Seiya, Shiryu and Hyoga had all worn theirs to Sicily, of course. Shun stopped at the very end, pausing a moment in front of his own box, then pushed off the heavy stone lid.

It only took him a few moments to don the pink armor. The Nebula Chain jingled to life at his touch, greeting him, ready to fight. He gripped it, warding off the cough that was trying to force its way out of his parched throat. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the room.

Two of the black-cloaked figures were bounding up the stairs as he came to them. It was almost funny, the looks on their faces as the Chain leapt forward and knocked them head-over-heels down the stairs.

The thin, blue knight shot his head up as two of his servants came tumbling down. He glanced up, where an easily identifiable knight in pink armor stood, silver chains rustling around him.

The dark warrior narrowed his eyes. "What." he snarled. "Are you doing here?"

"Excuse me?" Shun raised an eyebrow, his voice cracking a bit against the soar throat. "I should be asking you that! Who the hell are you?!"

The man smirked, reading the weakness in the boy's voice. The fool…

He began up the stairs, advancing on his opponent. "I suppose I should introduce myself, shouldn't I?" his grin widened. "I am the Knight of Auriga, the chariot driver."

He was now in the Chain's range, and producing enough malice towards their user that they lunged out and attacked him. He snapped his whip twice, killing the momentum in mid-air, then snatched up one end in each hand. Shun gave a startled noise.

"Surprised? Yes, I suppose you would be." he pulled the chain in as he walked up the stairs, shortening the distance between himself and his prey. They crackled with a combination of energy and electricity, but his armor seamed well-warded against such methods. "These chains draw their power from you, correct? But now it seams…you don't have much of it left…"

He gave the chain a sharp pull with all his might, yanking the disorientated Shun head-first down the stairs. Auriga side-stepped his fall, letting him tumble down the staircase and to the floor below him, pulling the weapon out of his hands.

Shun sprawled face-down on the floor, winded a moment. Before he could move to pull himself off, Auriga jumped nimbly off the staircase and struck him in the small of the back. Shun cried out in pain, feeling a rib crack.

"Pathetic." he sneared, stepping to the ground. He cracked his whip in the air, kicking Shun in the chest. "I thought if I ever got a chance to fight one of you I'd at least have a challenge…"

Shun made a low growling noise, pulling himself to his feet. He lunged forward and connected a punch with Auriga's cheek, but the dark Knight just laughed.

"Don't be foolish, boy." he laughed, grabbing Shun's wrist. "I know you're nothing without that chain!"

He roughly yanked the boy's arm behind his back, forcing him to his knees. Shun let out a soft cry, feeling the pressure threaten to snap bone at any moment.

"So…" Auriga snickered in his ear. "Why not tell me where the gold helmet is hidden, hm? I may go easy on you…"

Shun bit his lip, trying to hold a glare on his features. Auriga frowned, pushing his arm higher until you could almost _hear_ the bone crack. "Come on now, talk!"

"Sir!"

Auriga glanced up. The five black-clothed fighters he'd brought with him were standing around them in a semi-circle, awaiting his orders.

"The Helmet isn't here, sir." the lead reported. "We've searched everywhere."

"What?" Auriga growled, shoving Andromeda to the floor. The pink-armored knight let out a strangled gasp, but didn't have time to move before the back end of Auriga's whip came down at the base of his neck, leaving him in a crumpled heap. "What do you mean it's no here?!"

"It isn't here, sir. They must have hidden it elsewhere."

Auriga glanced down at Andromeda, now close to strangling him and leaving his friends to find the lifeless corpse. But then he stumbled upon a much more…profitable idea.

"…Well then." he smirked, "Let's get going…Bring the boy."

The lead raised his an eyebrow. "The boy, sir?"

"Yes…" Auriga narrowed his glare at the unconscious pink-armored knight. "I have plans for him…"

~ * ~ * ~

It was two hours later, close to mid-twilight, when Seiya, Shiryu and Hyoga returned from Sicily. They were a bit disheartened at what they had gained from their venture: Nothing. A whole lot of nothing.

"Man, that was a waste of time." Hyoga muttered sourly as they climbed the stairs.

Seiya mumbled in agreement, and even Shiryu had to nod. Seiya paused a moment by the closed door to Shun's room as the other two continued on to put away their cloths. He pulled off his helmet, shook his hair out, and knocked on the door.

"Hey Shun, we're back." he called. "How'ya feelin'? Any better?"

There was no answer. Seiya frowned, knocking a bit louder this time. "Shun? You okay?"

Still no answer. He furled his brow, turning the knob. "I'm coming in." he called, pushing the door open. "Shun?"

The green-haired boy was nowhere to be seen, but the room was a total mess. The bedclothes were mostly on the floor, and the pillows were in distant corners.

"Shun?" Seiya called, taking a step into the room and looking around. "Where are ya? Shun?"

He really wasn't there. Seiya raised a worried eyebrow, following after the other two knights. 

"Hey guys." he called when he caught up with them in the sitting room. "Shun's not in his room. You seen him?"

"Nope." Hyoga shrugged, pulling off his right armband to place it in his box. "Haven't seen him. Where's he gone?"

"No idea." Seiya looked a bit perturbed. "He was sick, so he couldn't have gone far…I guess he might have fallen asleep downstairs or something…"

"He didn't." Shiryu was holding his helmet in his hands, his voice steady but worried. He was staring down at the last box on the row. "His cloth…it's gone…"

Seiya and Hyoga snapped their heads around and stared. The familiar Andromeda cloth box was standing open, completely empty.

In a few moments the three of them, still with most of their armor on, were searching through the mansion for any hint of where their friend had gone. But they hadn't been searching for more than fifteen minutes when a panicked voice was heard calling them.

"Seiya!"

The Pegasus Knight turned. "Princess?" he gasped, seeing the purple-haired girl and her bodyguard running towards him. "You're back already?"

Sienna's hair was windblown, and her eyes were wide in apparent fret. "Where's Shun?" she gasped. "Is he here? Please tell me he's here…"

"We haven't been able to find him." Shiryu appeared out of a door on their right, while Hyoga stuck his head out of one on the left. "Why? What's wrong?"

Tatsumi stepped forward. "This package…" he indicated the large, open box in his arms. "Arrived for the Princess at the corporate building in Sapporo."

The three knights leaned over and looked into the box. Shiryu's eyes widened. "What the…?"

"It can't be!" Seiya gasped.

"The…The Nebula Chain…" Hyoga whispered, lifting out the silver object. "And Shun's helmet!"

Seiya looked up at Sienna. "What's it mean?"

The Princess shook her head, digging inside the box to retrieve one more object. "This tape came with the package." she sighed, holding out the black cassette. "I haven't played it yet…"

With solemn glances, they crossed into the living room in an anxious silence. Sienna slipped it into the VCR and pressed Play.

A navy-armored Knight with long, black hair appeared on the screen, smirking impassively. It was something about the way he held himself, but Seiya just plain didn't like him the moment he saw him.

"Good evening, Gentlemen…Princess…" his smirk widened. "I know you're impatient, so I'll get straight to the point: I want the Gold Helmet."

Hyoga scoffed, but didn't actually say anything. The new Knight continued. "Naturally, I doubt you're willing to part with such a treasure so easily…" now an almost-evil flash appeared in his eyes. "But I think I have something that may change your mind…"

The camera moved to focus on something behind him. Sienna gasped and covered her mouth. Hyoga let out a low sound that was like a growl. Shiryu griped the upholstery of the couch like he was about to jump forward and attack. Seiya's eyes went wide and he jumped to his feet.

"Shun!"

**__**

To Be Continued…


	2. Ransom

__

This was originally only going to be 2 chapter thing, but I decided to extend it to three, just to hold you in suspense a little longer. ^_^

****

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in here but Auriga. Feh.

****

Unknown

Chapter 2: Ransom

"Shun!" Seiya gasped, staring at the screen.

The green-haired boy was on his knees, his hands bound behind his back and tied in a visibly uncomfortable position to a wooden pole. His feet were tied together, and he mumbled something illegible against the white cloth gagging him. A pile of familiar, dark pink armor was in the corner behind him, and from the rips in his shirt and cuts on his skin, it'd been pulled off roughly. He struggled weakly against his bonds, occasionally being racked with a sudden fits of coughing.

A navy-garbed hand appeared and rustled its way through Shun's long hair. The captive attempted to pull his head away, unsuccessfully. The new Knight grinned, looking back at the camera.

"Why that…!" Hyoga growled, climbing to his feet next to Seiya.

"Yes, I thought that would get your attention." he chuckled. "Now listen closely: Inside the box is a map to our present location. Bring the Helmet here by noon tomorrow, or I may just have to…dispose of…your little friend."

The tape ended very abruptly.

~ * ~ * ~

Auriga snickered a bit, biting into the flesh of a ripe apple. The island they had chosen for this was rich with fruit trees and they had found quite a luscious feast.

He glanced across the room at Andromeda, still bound as he had been when they made the tape. He wasn't fighting anymore, barely moving at all except for savage coughs every ten minutes or so. His head drooped in exhaustion, long hair hiding his face.

Auriga smirked, picking a peach out of the pile. He got up and walked to the captive and lifted his head by a tuft of hair. He yanked the gag off, evoking a short gasp of pain from the smaller boy as hairs were pulled out.

"Hungry?" he taunted, holding the fruit enticingly under his nose, making sure the sweet smell wafted towards him. Andromeda glared, keeping his mouth shut, but a growl from his stomach area betrayed the body's need.

Auriga smirked, pressing the peach to his now-freed lips. "I know you want it, pretty thing. Go on…eat it…"

His victim kept his mouth clenched shut, refusing to take anything from the deranged Knight. Auriga frowned a bit, then his smirked widened as he got an idea. "Okay, then…If you don't want to take it…"

He pulled the fruit away a moment, then suddenly took a hunk of Shun's hair and yanked to the point of pulling it all out. The boy let out a sudden gasp of pain, and in that split instant his mouth was open enough, Auriga stuffed the peach in.

"There, you see? It's _good_!" he laughed, now digging sharply-manicured nails into his victim's scalp, drawing blood and more exclamations of pain. He turned the fruit around, scraping the flesh on his teeth so rapidly Shun could hardly breathe. Shun gasped for air, the juice from the peach spilling out of his lips even as most of it was stuffed down his throat..

Auriga continued to force-feed his captive until the fruit was down to nothing but the pit. This he discarded with a devilish grin, showing pearly white teeth that looked distinctly like fangs.

Andromeda was now sputtering, gasping for breath. Small pieces of fruit clung to stands of the hair that once again hung in front of his face. Auriga snickered, reaching forward and lifting his head up by the chin, looking into half-lidded eyes damp with what may soon become tears. 

He gazed at the boy's face a moment, studying him. He'd be a fool not to admit that he was attractive, yes, and that there was an odd air of feminism around him…the Andromeda cloth suited him perfectly.

He stroked the boy's cheek with his thumb, who pulled weakly at his bonds in response. "If I were you…" he snickered. "I'd be thankful for that food I just gave you. It could very well be your last meal…"

~ * ~ * ~

The location turned out to be a remote island near the northern coast of China. It would take them all night to get there, at least, so they set off immediately.

Shiryu and Hyoga quickly retreated to their respective cabins, needing a night's sleep to be at full form. But Seiya stayed up long after the others had gone to sleep. He sat on the deck a while, playing a nameless tune on his guitar, but soon he stopped and just looked at the sky.

Immediately, he picked out a few familiar stars. Pegasus…and Cygnus, the Swan, on the other side…Draco, also known as Dragon, between the Ursa Minor and Major… and right there, practically connected to his own constellation, was Andromeda.

Seiya stared at it a moment, biting his lip. He felt…just a tiny bit guilty. He knew it was stupid, yes, but still…he _had_ been the one to insist Shun stay home. If no one had been there, they might have trashed the place, but…

"Seiya?"

He jumped and turned in his chair. Sienna was standing behind him, a heavy velvet robe pulled over her. "Princess." he gasped. "What're you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same thing." she sat in the chair next to him, turning her head to gaze in the direction he'd been staring in. "Oh, I see…Andromeda…" 

She turned back to gaze at the Pegasus Knight. "Seiya…are you feeling guilty?"

"…" he didn't respond for a while, getting up to lean against the railing of the ship's deck. Sienna stared after him a moment, letting him sort out his thoughts before he dared to speak.

"I…I just can't believe we let them get Shun!" he muttered sourly, gripping the rails. "We _knew_ he was sick…We _knew_…but as weak as he was, we left him alone! We should've…at least…"

"We thought he was safe, Seiya." Sienna soothed, placing her hand over his. "How were we to guess that Auriga would attack? He did what he was trained to do… protect his home…"

Seiya looked up at the shining stars, still a bit upset. "If that creep hurts him…" he muttered, mostly to himself, but left it about at that.

"He'll be fine, Seiya." Sienna whispered. "He has to be…"

~ * ~ * ~

They pulled into the makeshift harbor at about 10:30 in the morning. It was the only place for them to go ashore, but the arranged meeting spot was on the other side of the island. Seiya, Shiryu and Hyoga went on foot to cross, while Sienna and Tatsumi to steer around the island, the Princess reminding them that their priority was to get Shun out of danger, not to keep the Helmet.

Like they needed reminding.

It was only a half-an-hour walk to the place Auriga had specified, a the smallest in a series of cliffs that jutted over the deeper waters. The dark Knight stood alone, framed by a much higher crag.

"Ah…" he spread his hands out, as though in greeting. "I see you were smart, and brought the helmet."

Seiya tightened his grip on the artifact. "Hold it, dirt bag." he growled. "Where's Shun?"

"He's here." Auriga grinned, pointing above him.

A dark-clothed figure stood at the top of the cliff, a good fifty meters above them and sixty from the water. He was holding the green-haired boy precariously close to the edge. His hands were once again tied behind his back, but there was something large and gray-black shackled to his ankles. The near-spectral figure held had his hand clamped tightly over his mouth, keeping the weakly struggling boy still.

The three Bronze Knights stared, then glared at Auriga with fierce hate. He just grinned at them.

"Only a precaution, boys." he snickered. "Of course, I was thinking about keeping him if you didn't show up…It'd be a shame to let such a pretty thing rot at the bottom of the sea…"

"You…!" Hyoga growled. Shiryu put a hand on his shoulder to hold him back.

Auriga grinned a bit wider and held out his hand. "Well?"

They suddenly heard a cry of pain from above. Four heads snapped up.

The shout had come from the Black Knight, now clutching a bleeding hand. From the slight bit of red on the boy's teeth, it looked as though Shun had bitten him.

"Guys, be careful!" the green-haired knight warned. "That guy's Auriga…he's really…"

"Shut it, brat!" his guard snapped, clamping a hand over his mouth once again. And this time, he punched the boy in the stomach, knocking the air out of him for good measure. Even muffled as it was, they could hear the coughs that sprung from his throat.

"Shun!" Shiryu growled, his look of distaste mirrored on the other's faces.

"Just hang on!" Hyoga shouted up.

Auriga exchanged a glare with Seiya, glancing into the defiant teen's eyes. Then he glanced up at his accomplice and jutted his head towards the sea.

The dark figure grinned at the silent command, shoving Shun forward. The three Bronze Knights gasped, but he stopped suddenly, holding Shun far over the edge. If he released, the boy would fall.

"Now…" Auriga growled at Seiya. "Give…me…the helmet!"

Seiya glared at him, the slowly walked forward, holding the helmet out. He hesitated a moment, glanced nervously at the precarious-looking Shun, then handed the helmet over.

As soon as the object was in his grasp, Auriga started to laugh. His partner grinned as well, removing his hand from Shun's mouth and pulling him back on solid ground.

"There." Seiya growled. "You've got it, now get him down here!"

"Oh, I'll get him down…" Auriga looked up and motioned with his hand.

The evil fighter grinned and, very suddenly, pushed Shun off the cliff.

**__**

To Be Continued…

*laughs evilly* Speaking of cliff hangers…ACK!! *ducks sudden hail of projectiles thrown by angry readers* No…no…stop!! I'm not gonna end it here, dammit! LEAVE ME ALONE!! *starts defending with the nearest object…a frying pan* IF YOU DON'T STOP THROWING THINGS I WON'T BE ABLE TO FINISH!!! *a sudden stop in the projectile-ing* Phew…okay, back to writing! Should be concluded by the weekend, depending on how fast I can come up with a good battle scene…and ending…


	3. Illness

__

AAAAH! *dives behind couch* Please don't hurt me.I continued, see, I continued!! Don't hurt me!! Waaaah!! Midori, the readers are scaring me!!!

****

Midori: *the little six-inch-tall muse on my shoulder* Hey hey hey, back off! You wanna read the story or you wanna mess with me? *pulls out a sword about the size of a razor blade* Bring it on you.

Midori, that's enough! *stuffs her in a sock* *ahem* Uh.well, that teaches me to use bad cliff-hanger puns, huh? Anyway.I'm glad I got most of the characters right, even if I call her Sienna (can't spell the other name.) and go by Knights instead of Saints.It just makes more sense to me for them to be Knights in this fic since I've already started, but if I ever do another one, they'll be Saints.

Er.This might sound stupid, but does the Saint title remind anyone else of Sailor Moon? With guys.?*shudder* Bad image.Very baaaaad image.

And yes, I am a girl. If you every see me, I look like a guy, but I'm a girl. 

****

Disclaimer: Everything has been said before, but since no one ever listens we have to keep repeating ourselves: I don't own anything to do with St. Seiya except these two action figures. And one of them belongs to my brother. Feh.

****

Unknown

Chapter 3: Illness

"SHUN!!"

The gasp that escaped the three Bronze Knights was barely heard over the maniacal laughter of the demented Auriga, and the splash at weights around Shun's ankles dragged him to disappeared under the water.

Auriga turned on his heel, running with the Gold Helmet in hand, his motions mirrored by his only accomplice on the actual island.

"Get back here!" Shiryu exclaimed in the closest thing to rage Seiya'd ever seen in him. In a few seconds time he was giving chase.

Hyoga started towards the edge of the shallow bluff they were on at top speed. "You guys get the Helmet, I'll save Shun!" he called and, with the grace only a Knight could have, dove into the water.

Seiya nodded as Swan dove into the waves. The Pegasus Knight followed after Shiryu, now ready to give Auriga a taste of his Meteor Punch.

Hyoga swam for the place Shun had hit as fast as he could. It couldn't be too deep this near the shore, but Shun could only last without air for about a minute and a half.

He dove down. Shun was so close, only about 4 and a half meters _(13.5 ft.)_ down, the ankle-weight lodged in a sandbank. His eyes were scrunched closed, desperately trying to keep in air, and he was hardly moving.

_"Hang on, Shun."_ Hyoga thought, reaching for the weight.

He focused his energy as he touched the heavy shackles. In a few moments, they were frozen solid and starting to ice the sea around them. A few seconds later and they cracked clean open.

Hyoga grabbed Shun around the waist, hauling him to the surface. As he gulped in a breath, Shun coughed and sputtered in a barely-conscious state.

"I got'cha, kiddo." he muttered. "I got.wha?"

He back paddled quickly to avoid the side of a boat. A rope ladder rolled down the side.

"Hyoga!" a familiar voice shouted down. He looked up. Sienna was leaning over the edge of the ship, Tatsumi behind her. "Hurry, get him up here!"

Hyoga quickly obliged, carefully carrying the smaller boy up on one arm. Tatsumi, following Sienna's orders, pulled Shun on-board, using a small knife to cut the bonds on his wrists. Under the same instructions, he lay the boy out flat on the deck.

Hyoga knelt down and put and ear to Shun's chest. Then he carefully placed his hands on his stomach and struck down.

Shun sputtered a moment, coughing up a spray of water. Hyoga did it twice more before he was sure it was out of his system, then checked his pulse.

Sienna place a hand on Shun's forehead. He had slipped unconscious, and now he was shivering violently.

"Hyoga, get him to his room and out of those wet clothes." she ordered, then glanced behind her. "Tatsumi, get every blanket we can spare. There are chills setting in, I think he's going into shock."

~ * ~ * ~

Seiya was now face-to-face with Auriga. The older Knight had thrown the Helmet to his partner, who was now being chased after by Shiryu, leaving Seiya to face him. He was standing across from him, cracking his whip coolly in symbol for a challenge.

"You know." Seiya cracked his knuckles under his gauntlets. ".If Ikki were around, he'd tear you to pieces for what'cha did to Shun. But since he's not, I'll just hafta do it for him!"

"You're welcome to try." Auriga snickered.

Seiya lunged forward with his Meteor Punches flying. Auriga cracked his whip several times, blocking almost all of them (one got his right shoulder) and a final _snap_ caught Seiya in the chest, throwing him backwards.

He sat up with a slight groan. "Okay.didn't expect that."

Auriga snickered, stretching his whip almost lazily. "There's far more than that in store, boy." he snapped his whip seven times in different directions. Seiya realized just a bit too late that he was tracing the stars of the constellation Auriga and tried to get out of the way.

"Chariot's Whip!" the blue-skinned Knight laughed, his whip flying forward as though it had life in it.

Seiya rolled out of the way, but the rock behind him wasn't so lucky. It split clean in half, dropping to the ground in pieces. The Pegasus Knight pushed himself to his feet, dodging another whip-crack and producing an effective, if sloppy, roundhouse kick to his opponent's head.

Auriga stumbled back under the force of Seiya's cosmos. The Pegasus lunged forward and connected a hard right with his stomach. "_That_ one was from me." he glared, stepping back. "And _these_ are for messin' with Shun!"

The wave of Meteor Punches nearly flew from his body, plowing into Auriga and hurling the blue knight back into the stone edge, which nearly crumbled on top of him. The sheepherder's cloak-like armor was nearly shattered into pieces.

"Seiya!" Shiryu bonded down from the cliff, holding the gold helmet. He observed Auriga with approval, nodding. "Not bad.Guess you didn't need my help."

Seiya looked serious. "We should get back to the ship."

"Not quite." Shiryu glanced at him. "We've got to get Shun's cloth back, first."

~ * ~ * ~

Shiryu and Seiya hurried through the twilight to the boat, each carrying half of the Andromeda cloth and Seiya with the Gold Helmet. Hyoga was waiting there to meet them.

"You got it all back." he nodded approvingly. "And you gave the jerk a couple of knocks for us, right?"

"Where's Shun?" Seiya demanded. "How is he?"

".He's alive." Hyoga muttered, turning. "Come on."

He lead them to the only cabin that had been unoccupied on the trip up. Sienna was pressing a hot pad to Shun's forehead, trying to quell his chills. It wasn't working too well, his shivering was visible form the doorway.

"Shun!" Seiya exclaimed, nearly dropping the half of cloth he carried. They set their loads down and hurried to the bedside.

Sienna looked up at them, pulling another blanket up over his shaking form. "He's unconscious." she said quietly. "Between the shock of near-drowning, and the cold and everything else that's happened to him.I'm afraid whatever he had earlier has at least tripled in strength. It might have even developed into pneumonia, or something even worse."

She stood, brushing off her skirt. "The best we can do now is let him rest and try to keep him warm until the chills break."

~ * ~ * ~

Shun slept through the night and didn't wake in the morning. For that matter, he didn't wake up the next morning, or the one after that. Even after moving him from the boat back to his room, he was out cold for the next four days.

Needless to say, the others were starting to get worried.

".Can't we do anything?" Seiya asked once again, the morning of the fourth day.

Sienna sighed. "His temperature's back down and he's breathing normally again. There's nothing left we can help with. All we can do now is.wait for him to wake up."

They were quiet a moment, until Hyoga gave a very low chuckle. "What's so funny?" Seiya glanced at him.

"Nothin'." the blonde Knight shrugged. "Just a stupid, random thought."

"What kind of thought?" Shiryu pressed on.

Hyoga sighed, glancing to the side. "I was just thinkin'.you know what Ikki would do to us if he really did come back and found out we let Shun die of something stupid like hypothermia?"_(1)_

"Don't even joke." Seiya snapped.

Hyoga raised his hands in defense. "I told you it was a stupid thought."

"He brings up a good point, though." Shiryu nodded. "What're we gonna do if he never wakes up?"

"If who never wakes up?"

Heads snapped around. Standing in the doorway, a blanket draped over his shoulders, looking tired but happy, was a certain green-haired boy.

"Shun!" everyone in the room rose at once.

"You're.You're alive!" Hyoga exclaimed, sounding pretty lame to his own ears.

"You had us worried sick!" Seiya gasped. He put his hand on Shun's shoulder, as though to make sure he was really real, then reached forward with the other one and tweaked the smaller Knight's nose. _(2) _"You little twerp!"

Shun laughed a bit. The others around him had to join in after a moment, simply happy things were back to normal.for a while, at least.

****

~*~Owari~*~

(1) Actually, this is what I though when I was writing this.I had to have SOMEBODY say it.^_^

(2) Tweak tweak! I made an OC in my head once that had a habit like that! She called Shun 'squirt' and 'twerp' and tweaked his nose like that. ^_^

Yup, that's just about it.I hope you liked it. Please review one last time, 'cause it's real disappointing when you end something and only get like, three reviews on the last chapter! I have other St. Seiya ideas I might preview with someone, if you're interested. Problem is, one has my OC (the one I described up there.she's funny) and the other is a bit.well, angsty-mean. -_-'.Feh.Running out of steam here.Better sign off.

40% CHANCE OF SNOW!!!! IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS STUPID DESERT!! IT'S A MIRICLE!!!!!!!!! **PLEASE LET IT BE A SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


End file.
